Brave Pc blinded by Moat out of hospital

Pc David Rathband who was shot twice in the attack while sitting in his patrol car in Newcastle, has said he is now on the mend despite doctors being unable to save his sight.

The married father-of-two said he felt "good about what's ahead" and was looking forward to sleeping in his own bed.

"I have to come back in three to four weeks to have another examination of my left eye just to see if there's something they can salvage from that," he said.

"It's going to very difficult and I'm devastated but I'm not going to dwell on it because if I do then, in my opinion, it will block out all of the things that I need to achieve to get to where I need to be."

Moat, 37, from Newcastle, shot his ex-lover Sam Stobbart, of Birtley, Gateshead, then killed her boyfriend Chris Brown, and shot Pc Rathband before going on the run, sparking a week-long manhunt, before killing himself.

A total of 20 people have been arrested with two charged with conspiracy to murder due in court today.

It was reported last night that television survival expert Ray Mears was drafted in by police hunting Moat as he tried to evade detection in the countryside near Rothbury.